Military TimesJust passed another Fourth of July, we rightly celebrated our great nation's independence and remember the time that 13 upstart colonies took the fight to a larger more powerful military and won their freedom.
Although many factors lead to the birth of our nation, one factor that gets overshadowed is the military fitness brought to a "sick, cold and hungry cabal" of Americans at Valley Forge by a Prussian named Frederick von Steuben. His arrival in February 1778, and the techniques he brought with him, marked "a singularly important event relative to future physical training in the U.S. Army," wrote Dr. Whitfield "Chip" East in A Historical Review and Analysis of Army Physical Readiness Training and Assessment.READ MORE

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE

Bisek & Company, Inc. Military Resale Distributing Agent and BrokerUnderstands how important the benefit of the Commissary and Exchange is to the active duty and retired military service personnel. We will work with a manufacturer to bring their fine products to this unique market. Bisek & Company's teams are dedicated to doing what it takes to keep those special shoppers coming back to the Commissaries and Exchanges. Contact Bisek & Company team so we may help you better understand what it takes to succeed in expanding your role in this very special benefit. Contact Don Stickles 757 460 0968 or Craig Bisek or Gil

Bianchi Remains at Helm of Commissary Operations

The Department of Defense announced July 2 that retired Rear Adm. Robert J. Bianchi will continue leading the Defense Commissary Agency as a special assistant for commissary operations.

Virginia Penrod, the principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs (M & RA), will concurrently serve as the DeCA director and CEO. Bianchi will report to her office. Both actions are effective July 1.

Since Oct. 24, Bianchi has served as DeCA's interim director and CEO as well as CEO of the Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM). Personnel policies did not permit an extension beyond the 240 days Bianchi had already served as interim director. In the position as Special Assistant for Commissary Operations, Bianchi can continue leading the day-to-day management and control of DeCA's business operations, while also continuing his NEXCOM responsibilities.

"The Department is currently in a reform environment and the military resale systems are under review," Penrod said. "Until such a time as the future of the military resale systems is clear, DoD leadership strongly supports the appointment of Rear Admiral Bianchi as the Special Assistant for Commissary Operations. "Over the last eight months, Rear Admiral Bianchi has done an amazing job of initiating changes in DeCA's programs and processes," Penrod said. "The current Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, Robert Wilkie, asked him if he would be willing to continue serving at DeCA. As an ardent supporter and believer in the importance of these key quality of life benefits, Rear Admiral Bianchi has agreed to stay on." Penrod said it's important that the Department maintain the momentum achieved by Bianchi's tenure as DeCA's interim director at a time when the agency continues to evolve as it looks to improve the patron shopping experience by integrating commercial business practices such as variable pricing and private label brands.

"I am honored and excited to continue the work I've begun within our commissaries to help make an appreciable difference in the quality of life of our service members and their families," Bianchi said. "Our mission is first and foremost to provide the products our patrons want at significant savings. That is the benefit they've earned!"

Military TimesA new push to hire 100,000 military spouses is among several new government and private sector initiatives being rolled out to help ease barriers to employment for military spouses.
Here's a closer look at three of these new efforts.READ MORE

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Specific information on upcoming ALA events is posted regularly on the ALA website. To learn more about each event, please click the following links:

Silverhorn Golf Course, 1100 W. Bitters Rd.,
San Antonio, TX 78216. 210-545-5300. Tee Time at 12:30 pm. Rain or Shine.
The Alamo Chapter will be hosting a golf tournament in conjunction with the National Convention. The event will support Wounded Warriors. There will be Prizes, Food and refreshments, and everyone is welcomed to attend! Sign up today!

ALA's 71st Annual Convention is scheduled to be held October 1-3, 2018 at the Westin Riverwalk in San Antonio, TX. Visit our website for agenda highlights, hotel information, things to do in San Antonio, and to register!

COMMISSARY NEWS

Commissary Web Posts

The following commissary items were recently posted to the ALA Website (www.ALA-National.org):

The Wall Street JournalTarget Corp. plans to add automatic cash-counting machines to its nearly 2,000 stores starting this summer, following other retailers who are automating more store jobs as labor costs rise.
The gray machines known as cash recyclers count bills and coins quickly, but they also allow stores to digitally bank their cash and predict how much money is needed for each cashier's shift.READ MORE

The Virginia-PilotShoppers at a Virginia Beach commissary soon will be able to buy beer with their pretzels and wine with their cheese.
The commissary at Joint Expeditionary Base-Little Creek will be one of the first in the nation to sell beer and wine starting July 26, according to the Defense Commissary Agency.READ MORE

Military Times
As some commissaries across the country start selling beer and wine, don't look for whiskey on those shelves any time soon.
But House lawmakers are pressing the Defense Department on that issue and requiring defense officials to conduct a study on the feasibility of adding distilled spirits to commissary shelves.
The detailed findings are to be briefed to the House Armed Services Committee by Sept. 28.READ MORE

The PackerKroger plans to pilot the use of unmanned road vehicles for grocery delivery this fall.
"We are incredibly excited about the potential of our innovative partnership with Nuro to bring the future of grocery delivery to customers today," Yael Cosset, chief digital officer for Kroger, said in a news release. "As part of Restock Kroger, we have already started to redefine the grocery customer experience and expand the coverage area for our anything, anytime and anywhere offering," Cosset said.READ MORE

Supermarket News
In online grocery shopping and delivery, getting produce right is paramount.
That's what two grocery e-commerce veterans stressed in a discussion panel titled "The Digital Retail Landscape" at the United FreshMKT and SmartFood Conference, held in Chicago by the United Fresh Produce Association.READ MORE

AJCHow does a small independent grocer not only survive, but thrive, in the age of Instacart and two-hour delivery windows?
Sure, it helps that West Foods is the sole grocery store in Edison, a tiny town in southwest Georgia’s Calhoun County. The closest brick-and-mortar competitor is in Cuthbert, 15 miles away.READ MORE

Progressive GrocerThe myriad pressures confronting today's grocery businesses have been especially hard on regional players. On the one hand, they are competing with behemoths like Amazon and Walmart, whose size allows them to profit despite razor-thin margins. On the other, they face format innovators like Sprouts and Fresh Thyme that differentiate in the fresh space, as well as discounters like Aldi and new market entrant Lidl.
READ MORE

Supermarket NewsDespite the growth of vegetarian and vegan diets and the development of plant-based protein alternatives, meat and poultry products remain U.S. consumer favorites, with Packaged Facts forecasting that total retail sales of meat, poultry, and meat substitutes will be just shy of $100 billion in 2021.
READ MORE

Military Times
A retired Army major general and former retail executive will lead a Pentagon task force that is examining the case for a possible merger of the military exchange and commissary systems, Defense officials announced.
Keith Thurgood, who was also the chief executive officer of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service from 2007 to 2010, will start work soon.READ MORE

DVIDSMarine Corps Community Services South Carolina
received the Regional Economic Impact Award at
the Tabby Place in downtown Beaufort May 24.
The award was presented by Lockheed Martin
and Hargray and hosted by the Beaufort Chamber
of Commerce and at their annual Civitas Gala, an
awards ceremony, in recognition of MCCS’s economic
impact to the city of Beaufort and the surrounding
areas of the Lowcountry.READ MORE

Progressive GrocerThe myriad pressures confronting today’s grocery businesses have been especially hard on regional players. On the one hand, they are competing with behemoths like Amazon and Walmart, whose size allows them to profit despite razor-thin margins. On the other, they face format innovators like Sprouts and Fresh Thyme that differentiate in the fresh space, as well as discounters like Aldi and new market entrant Lidl.
READ MORE

NRFThe National Retail Federation issued the following statement from President and CEO Matthew Shay in response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair allowing states to require online sellers to collect sales tax the same as local stores.READ MORE

By Delany Martinez From crumbling, aging bridges that fail to pass any but the most basic of structural tests to endless waves of patch-fixing on the torn-up highways traversing them, many of the 4 million miles of roadways in the United States have seen much better days. For everyday drivers, this amounts to an inconvenience, and perhaps a pinch of worry when ugly weather is tossed into the mix. For logistics professionals, however, the situation is much more dire.READ MORE

Star TribuneMinnesota's biggest retailers heralded the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on Thursday to clear the way for states to require companies such as Amazon and Wayfair to collect sales tax.
Brick-and-mortar businesses, including Target Corp. and Best Buy Co. Inc., have long complained that they are disadvantaged by having to charge sales taxes while many of their online competitors do not. READ MORE

The Washington PostFor years, the majority of Ann Shumbo's clothing came from J.Crew. The Los Angeles-based real estate agent bought T-shirts there monthly, as well as pants, sweaters and blazers.
Not anymore. A series of misfires, she says, have kept the 50-year-old away from the company for over a year. Like other longtime loyalists, she's found a number of other alternatives — including Banana Republic, Zara, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus — that have taken the place of her once-favorite brand.READ MORE

Seattle TimesMirna Valerio has run 11 ultramarathons and 10 marathons. She began running at 13 and now, at 42, has graced the covers of magazines like Runner's World, Women's Running and Ultra. She's a veritable badass and nobody can tell her different. Except they have.READ MORE

CSP Daily NewsVideo games, makeup and soccer: These are all normal diversions for a 12-year-old child. But there's a group of kids out there who don’t experience any of this. They are the children who are held against their will for sex or labor purposes.
Each year, an estimated 150,000 children are lured into sex trafficking, according to the Connecticut Department of Children and Families. Children aren't the only ones who are trafficked, though they do make up about half of victims, according to the U.S. Department of State. Nationwide, it's estimated that hundreds of thousands of people are victims of trafficking. READ MORE

Convenience Store NewsNearly 400 Corner Store locations in Texas are about to sport a new look.
One year after Alimentation Couche-Tard closed on its acquisition of San Antonio-based CST Brands Inc., it is rebranding CST's Corner Store locations in the state to the global Circle K banner.READ MORE

Convenience Store NewsAfter three years of collaborating with its design and construction partners to develop a reimagined brand experience, Dash In unveiled the fruits of its labor with an all-new, large-format "neighborhood concept store" in Chesterfield County, Virginia, that prominently showcases local products and the retailer's elevated fresh food and beer/wine offering.READ MORE

Convenience Store DecisionsQuickChek Corp. is once again raising funds to help support post-9/11 service members and their families through an in-store donation program.
Customers are invited to purchase paper dog-tags for $1 at any of the company's 156 fresh convenience market store locations in the metropolitan area.READ MORE

ALA's 71st Annual Convention is scheduled to be held October 1-3 at the Westin Riverwalk in San Antonio, TX. Visit our website for agenda highlights, hotel information, things to do in San Antonio, and to register!

DVIDSService members can enjoy the magic of Walt Disney World vacations with the help of the MILITARY STAR® card, which offers an affordable way to stay at Shades of Green resort in Orlando, the Armed Forces Recreation Center (AFRC) tax-free resort on Disney property.
The MILITARY STAR card can also be used to purchase tickets to Disney and Orlando attractions through Shades of Green. Events and weddings at the resort can be paid for with the card as well. And shoppers can grab all the gifts and souvenirs they need right on site — an Army & Air Force Exchange Service Express store at the resort sells affordable Disney souvenirs and more — tax-free.READ MORE

DVIDSCommander, Navy Region Northwest (NRNW), hosted a change of command ceremony June 20, at Naval Base Kitsap- Bremerton.
Rear Adm. Scott Gray relieved Rear Adm. Gary Mayes, as the officer leading NRNW, which spans 11 states, and is home to more than 190,000 active duty and reserve service members, family members, civilian employees and Navy retirees.
The guest speaker for the change of command was commander, Navy Installations Command, Vice Adm. Mary Jackson and who spoke of what Mayes and NRNW meant to the Navy. READ MORE